Buoyant swimming device



Feb. 23, 1965 v. T. BRANDT BUOYANT SWIMMING DEVICE Filed Sept. 6, 1963 IN VENTOR. W201 [5244 07 3,l70,l75 Patented Feb. 23, 1965 3,170,175 7BUOYANT SWIMMING DEVICE Virgil T. Brandt, 3324 Explorer Drive, I

Sacramento, Calif. Filed Eept. 6, 1963, Ser. No. 307,063

Claims. (Cl. 9337) t This invention relates to a buoyant swimming deviceand relates more particularly to a device to be secured incircumscribing relation around a portion of a swimmers body,specifically the ankles thereof, to assist in swimming and in learningto swim.

A primary object of the instant invention is the pro vision of a buoyantswimming device which is sturdy and durable in construction, reliableand efficient in operation, and relatively simple and inexpensive tomanufacture, assemble, utilize, and maintain.

' Another object of this invention is to provide a device of the typedescribed which may be received in circumscribing relationship aroundthe ankles of an inexperienced or learning swimmer to facilitatemaintaining his legs in a freely floating condition. 7

Yet another object of this invention is to provide such a device whichis sufficiently buoyant to maintain the swimmers legs in floatingrelationship when the swimmer is relaxed and his legs are freelyextended, yet insufficient to preclude lowering of the legs whendownward force is exerted by the swimmer.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a buoyantswimming device which is readily adjustable to accommodate body portionsof varying size. 1

A still further object of the instant invention is the provision of aswimming aid providing adjustable buoyant force so that swimmers ofdifferent sizes and weights may utilize the same.

An additional object of this invention is to providea buoyant swimmingdevice which is readily and adjustably secured in circumscribingrelation to a portion of a swimmers body.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a device of thecharacter described which is relatively small and flat, having nobuckles or other such means capable of accidentally catching on eachother and tripping the user'.

Other and further objects reside in the combination of elements,arrangement of parts, and features of construction.

Still other objects will in part be obvious and in part be pointed outas the description of the invention proceeds and as shown on theaccompanying drawing where- FIGURE 1 is a pictorial representation of aportion of a swimmer sitting on the side edge of a swimming pool or thelike with a buoyant swimming device in accordance with the instantinvention secured in circumscribing relation around each ankle, theright ankle being circumscribed by a right pattern as shown in FIGURES2, 3, and 4, and the left ankle being circumscribed by a left pattern,which latter may be considered the mirror image of FIGURE 2, or exactlylike FIGURE 2 except that the tab extends rightwardly from the pocketsinstead of leftwardly;

FIGURE 2 is a front elevational view of a right of the preferredembodiment of a buoyant swimming device with the related parts of itspouch means opened outwardly for illustrative clarity;

FIGURE 3 is a transverse cross-sectional view looking downwardlysubstantially on line 33 of FIGURE 2, with parts broken away forillustrative convenience; and

FIGURE 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken substantially on line44 of'FIGURE 2, with the flap cover I folded inwardly in closedrelationship.

Like reference characters refer to like parts through out the severalviews of the drawing.

Referring now to the drawing in general, a buoyant swimming device inaccordance with the instant inventive concept is designated generally bythe reference numeral 10 and is shown in FIGURE 1 as secured incircumscribing relation around the ankles 12 of a swimmer shownpartially at 14 as sitting on the edge of a swimming pool' 16 or thelike.

The buoyant swimming device 10 is comprised basically of a pouch means18 including a first face member 20 having an inner surface adapted tobe received against thebody portion of the swimmer 14 when in use, asecond face member 22 having an outer surface disposed away. from thebody portion of the swimmer 14, a tab member I 24 including a hookmember 26 secured adjacent its terminal end and adapted to cooperatewith one of a plurality of spaced eye members 28 secured to, or integralwith, the outer surface of the second face member 22,

The first and second face members 20 and 22, respec-.

tively, are secured to each other along their sides as shown at 34 andbottom as shown at 36 by stitching or other conventional means to definetherebetween at least' one pocket 38 for removable reception of abuoyant.

means 40 of any conventional commercial manufacture. Preferably, aplurality of pockets 38a, 38b, 38c, 38d, and

38e are defined between the first and second face members 20 and 22,respectively, by a plurality of spaced parallel stitching or othersecuring means 34a, 34b, 34c, and 34d, each pocket being designed toremovably receive a discrete portion of buoyant means 40a, 40b, 40c,40d,.and

The use and operation of the device of the instant invention will now beapparent. Depending upon the size and weight of the individual utilizingthe device 10, one or a plurality of buoyant means 40 are inserted intothe pockets 38 defined within the pouch means 18 with the flap cover 30open as shown in FIGURE 2. The flap cover 30 is then folded over at 32as shown in FIGURE 4 against the inner surface of the first face member20 and the device 10 is wrapped around the body portion such as theankle 12 of the swimmer 14, the hook member 26 being selectively'engagedin one ofth'e eye. members 28 depending upon the dimension of the bodyportion being circumscribed. The portion of the hook means which isexposed in this wrapped placement, is a fiat surface which issubstantially coplanar with the exposed surface of the tab. It will benoted that the flap cover 30 is held securely between the bodyportion'and the inner surface of the first face member 20 to precludeaccidental displacement of the buoyant means 40 and the flaps preferablyextend downwardly. If a right is placed on a left ankle, the flap willextend upwardly which is less efiicient in holding the'buoyant means inthe pocket. Thus a swimmer may use two lefts' or two rights instead ofthe more conventional left and right.

It will be readily understood that both the pouch means 13 and thebuoyant means 4% may be formed of any suitable materials. Also, theparticular number of pockets 38 and relative dimension of the device 10may be readily varied as desired. Further, while the device 10 has beenillustrated as dimensioned to be received in circumscribing relationaround the ankles of a swimmer, it will be understood that this devicemay be utilized in relation to other body portions, although it ispreferably designed for 3 use with a portion of the leg of the swimmeras described hereinbefore.

It will now be seen that there is herein provided an improved buoyantswimming device which satisfies all of the objectives of the instantinvention, and others, including many advantages of great practicalutility and commercial importance. If utilized as illustrated, thedevice 10 will maintain the legs of the swimmer in a substantiallyhorizontally extending floating relation. An experienced swimmer doesvery little kicking, depending basically on the power of his arms topropel him through the water. This device will therefore relieve theswimmer of the necessity to exert energy in maintaining his feet on thewater surface, decreasing fatigue and increasing swimming efficiency. Onthe other hand, an inexperienced or learning swimmer has difliculty inmaintaining his legs on the surface of the water since, although theremainder of the body will normally float, the legs have a tendency tosink. This device maintains the legs in a substantially horizontallyextending floating relationship to assist such swimmers.

The device of the instant invention is quite flexible in use, beingadapted to contain a relatively small amount of buoyant material forchildren or persons of slight build, while being capable of receivinglarger amounts of buoyant material for swimmers of greater weight. Also,the device will readily accommodate body portions of varying dimensions.

Since many embodiments may be made of the instant inventive concept, andsince many modifications may be made of the embodiments hereinbeforeshown and described, it is to be understood that all matter herein is tobe interpreted merely as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. A buoyant swimming device comprising pouch means including a firstrectangular face flexible member,

a second similar shaped flexible member peripherally secured to saidfirst face member along only three consecutive edges, the second edge inthis series being a bottom edge thus defining a pocket between the twosaid members, the pocket thereby having a sealed bottom and an open top,

buoyant means received in said pocket up to the level of the top of saidpocket,

a flexible flap cover extending from and across the unsecured edge ofsaid second member and foldable over said unsecured edge and thenextendable parallel to and outside of a major top portion of said firstmember,

a flexible tab member extending lengthwise perpendicularly from a firstof said consecutive edges of said first and second face members,

hook members secured to the terminal end of said tab member constructedso as to provide a flat surface substantially coplanar with theextension of the exterior face of said second member, and including aprojecting hook outstanding from the exterior face of the extension ofsaid first face member,

and a plurality of horizontally spaced eye means at the same level asthe hook means and secured to the outer surface of said second facemember to selectively receive said hook,

the total horizontal length of the tab and the portion of the pocketbeyond the selected eye being such as to accommodate the device to beingcircumscribed about varying sized portions of a swimmers body,

whereby when the flat surface of the tab is in outermost or exposedrelationship with a member of a swimmers body, the flap cover will beboth in contact with the swimmer and also held closely to the outer faceof said first face member to keep the cover in closed position to thuspreclude accidental displacement of said buoyant means away from saidpocket.

2. A structure in accordance with claim 1 wherein the length of therectangular pocket portion and the tab is such as to be received incircumscribing relation to an ankle.

3. A structure in accordance with claim 2 wherein two devices comprise aset,

a first one of the devices of the set being constructed as a left andthe second of the devices of the set being constructed as a right or themirror image of said first device,

whereby the swimmer may elect to circumscribe each device on an anklewith each tab either facing the other ankle, or each pocket portionfacing the other ankle, and the flap covers both extend with theirdistal ends terminating downwards.

4. A structure in accordance with claim 2 wherein two devices comprise aset,

both devices of the setbeing of the same hand, that is,

both lefts or both rights,

whereby a single design only is required by the maker, and the swimmermay elect to circumscribe either device on either ankle with each tabeither facing the other ankle, or each pocket portion facing the otherankle.

5. A structure in accordance with claim 2 wherein said first and secondrectangular face flexible members are secured together along spacedparallel lines which are also parallel to and an equal length with afirst one of said consecutive edges,

to define a plurality of individual pockets for the reception ofindividual buoyant means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,162,610 11/15Jacobson et al. 9-337 1,788,480 1/31 Bond et al. 9-329 X 1,909,259. 5/33Feir 9336 X 2,374,506 4/45 Schorovsky 9-334 2,682,064 6/54 Boser et al.9337 FOREIGN PATENTS 601,211 11/25 France.

FERGUS S. MIDDLETON, Primary Examiner.

rin

1. A BUOYANT SWIMMING DEVICE COMPRISING POUCH MEANS INCLUDING A FIRST RECTANGULAR FACE FLEXIBLE MEMBER, A SECOND SIMILAR SHAPED FLEXIBLE MEMBER PERIPHERALLY SECURED TO SAID FIRST FACE MEMBER ALONG ONLY THREE CONSECUTIVE EDGES, THE SECOND EDGE IN THIS SERIES BEING A BOTTOM EDGE THUS DEFINING A POCKET BETWEEN THE TWO SAID MEMBERS, THE POCKET THEREBY HAVING A SEALED BOTTOM AND AN OPEN TOP, BUOYANT MEANS RECEIVED IN SAID POCKET UP TO THE LEVEL OF THE TOP OF SAID POCKET, A FLEXIBLE FLAP COVER EXTENDING FROM AND ACROSS THE UNSECURED EDGE OF SAID SECOND MEMBER AND FOLDABLE OVER SAID UNSECURED EDGE AND THEN EXTENDABLE PARALLEL TO AND OUTSIDE OF A MAJOR TOP PORTION OF SAID FIRST MEMBER, A FLEXIBLE TAB MEMBER EXTENDING LENGTHWISE PERPENDICULARLY FROM A FIRST OF SAID CONSECUTIVE EDGES OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND FACE MEMBERS, HOOK MEMBERS SECURED TO THE TERMINAL END OF SAID TAB MEMBER CONSTRUCTED SO AS TO PROVIDE A FLAT SURFACE SUBSTANTIALLY COPLANAR WITH THE EXTENSION OF THE EXTERIOR FACE OF SAID SECOND MEMBER, AND INCLUDING A PROJETING HOOK OUTSTANDING FROM THE EXTERIOR FACE OF THE EXTENSION OF SAID FIRST FACE MEMBER, AND A PLURALITY OF HORIZONTALLY SPACED EYE MEANS AT THE SAME LEVEL AS THE HOOK MEANS AND SECURED TO THE OUTER SURFACE OF SAID SECOND FACE MEMBER TO SELECTIVELY RECEIVE SAID HOOK, THE TOTAL HORIZONTAL LENGTH OF THE TAB AND THE PORTION OF THE POCKET BEYOND THE SELECTED EYE BEING SUCH AS TO ACCOMMODATE THE DEVICE TO BEING CIRCUMSCRIBED ABOUT VARYING SIZED PORTIONS OF A SWIMMER''S BODY WHEREBY WHEN THE FLAT SURFACE OF THE TAB IS IN OUTERMOST OR EXPOSED RELATIONSHIP WITH A MEMBER OF A SWIMMER''S BODY, THE FLAP COVER WILL BE BOTH IN CONTACT WITH THE SWIMMER AND ALSO HELD CLOSELY TO THE OUTER FACE OF SAID FIRST FACE MEMBER TO KEEP THE COVER IN CLOSED POSITION TO THUS PRECLUDE ACCIDENTAL DISPLACEMENT OF SAID BUOYANT MEANS AWAY FROM SAID POCKET. 